THE BUZZ: Blizzard may have only just started beta testing for World of Warcraft’s fourth expansion Mists of Pandaria, but the developer has confirmed that the game’s fifth expansion has been approved and is currently in development.

Blizzard COO Paul Sams confirmed the news to CVG stating that the WoW team already knows what it is going to be doing for multiple expansions in the future.

When asked if he saw potential for future expansions after Pandaria, Sams replied: “Absolutely, because I know what the next one is. So, that being said, I think there’s a lot of opportunity.”

“I got the pitch from Chris Metzen of what they plan for 6.0 and I’m pretty geeked up about it. They already know what they’re going to be doing for multiple expansions ahead.”

Talking about expansion five he said: “They have an idea – a general framework. They’re these lore creators. They’re the ones who drive what the world looks like today and what it’ll be like tomorrow and beyond.”

“I think the future of World Of Warcraft continues to be bright and I think Mists of Pandaria is going to breathe huge life into what I believe is the best MMO out there. I think the number of people we have playing and the level of enthusiasm they have for the game suggests that to be the case.”

“This is the next of many ways in which we’re going to grow and improve and evolve this game,” he concluded.

EGM’s TAKE: Despite Blizzard being hard at work on its next-gen MMO known as Titan, it appears that they have no intention of just abandoning World of Warcraft. The MMO has been losing subscribers slowly over the last year or so as several new entries to the genre have pulled players away. With more set to release later this year, how will Blizzard hold onto them? One way would be to increase the speed of updates, games like Rift release new content practically every other month, whereas WoW can take up to a year between expansions.

You can check out some footage from each of the new Mists of Pandaria zones here.

About Matthew Bennett

Matt is one of the longest-serving members of the EGMNOW team. An ability to go many hours without sleep and a quick wit make him ideal for his role as associate editor at EGMNOW.com. He often thinks back to the days when the very idea of this career seemed like nothing but an impossible dream. Find him on Twitter @mattyjb89

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Blizzard Confirms World of Warcraft Expansion Five is in Development

Blizzard may have only just started beta testing for World of Warcraft's fourth expansion Mists of Pandaria, but the developer has confirmed that the game's fifth expansion has been approved and is currently in development.

THE BUZZ: Blizzard may have only just started beta testing for World of Warcraft’s fourth expansion Mists of Pandaria, but the developer has confirmed that the game’s fifth expansion has been approved and is currently in development.

Blizzard COO Paul Sams confirmed the news to CVG stating that the WoW team already knows what it is going to be doing for multiple expansions in the future.

When asked if he saw potential for future expansions after Pandaria, Sams replied: “Absolutely, because I know what the next one is. So, that being said, I think there’s a lot of opportunity.”

“I got the pitch from Chris Metzen of what they plan for 6.0 and I’m pretty geeked up about it. They already know what they’re going to be doing for multiple expansions ahead.”

Talking about expansion five he said: “They have an idea – a general framework. They’re these lore creators. They’re the ones who drive what the world looks like today and what it’ll be like tomorrow and beyond.”

“I think the future of World Of Warcraft continues to be bright and I think Mists of Pandaria is going to breathe huge life into what I believe is the best MMO out there. I think the number of people we have playing and the level of enthusiasm they have for the game suggests that to be the case.”

“This is the next of many ways in which we’re going to grow and improve and evolve this game,” he concluded.

EGM’s TAKE: Despite Blizzard being hard at work on its next-gen MMO known as Titan, it appears that they have no intention of just abandoning World of Warcraft. The MMO has been losing subscribers slowly over the last year or so as several new entries to the genre have pulled players away. With more set to release later this year, how will Blizzard hold onto them? One way would be to increase the speed of updates, games like Rift release new content practically every other month, whereas WoW can take up to a year between expansions.

You can check out some footage from each of the new Mists of Pandaria zones here.

About Matthew Bennett

Matt is one of the longest-serving members of the EGMNOW team. An ability to go many hours without sleep and a quick wit make him ideal for his role as associate editor at EGMNOW.com. He often thinks back to the days when the very idea of this career seemed like nothing but an impossible dream. Find him on Twitter @mattyjb89